


Midnight Memories

by GlitchyBlu



Category: Original Work
Genre: Abuse, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Anja needs a hug, Art, Artists, Confessions, Domestic Violence, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Homophobia, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, LGBTQ Character of Color, LGBTQ Themes, M/M, Mental Health Issues, Pining, Quarantine, Slow Burn, Virus
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-25
Updated: 2020-04-24
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:34:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,101
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23833948
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GlitchyBlu/pseuds/GlitchyBlu
Summary: Amehlo's collage sends him home due to the virus. His home life isn't terrible, but it's not great either. His parents fight more then they should and don't approve of anything thats not "the American dream". Even though they're French and people of color. All he wants to do is get his degree in animation, but it's a bit hard to focus when the only quiet place he has, has been invaded by a foul mouthed and rude boy.There's not much he can do about that, but he may come to find that being stuck at home isn't as bad as it could be. Maybe it's worse.
Relationships: Amehlo Riju/Anja Saroa
Kudos: 3





	Midnight Memories

Walking up the stairs eight stories is not Amehlo’s definition of a warm homecoming. Why his parents decided to live in an apartment complex with no elevator still escapes him. Pushing open the door to the hallway and mumbling the apartment numbers as he passes, he doesn't really have to but he likes the familiarity it brings. Stopping in front of the wooden door marked with a 45 he takes a deep breath before knocking.

“YOU UNGRATEFUL BASTARD LEAVE ME THE FUCK ALONE ABOUT IT!” screeched his mother. He had definitely not missed this. He never liked being home, not because his parents did anything to him. No, they just fought… a lot. Screaming matches used to wake him up in the middle of the night or greeted when he got home from school or soccer practice. A lot of the time he would wake up to the door slamming and he knew he would be alone in the apartment for a few weeks.

“Oh baby, I missed you so much!” His mother brings him into a hug, reaching up to wind her arms around his neck. She pulled back and kissed each of his cheeks in greeting. “J'oublie toujours ta taille.” Amehlo smiled and was about to respond when his father tugged his hair.

“When did you do….this?” He asks, ruffling his blue hair. “Did you finally get tired of washing paint out of your hair?” He said, a scowl on his face.

“No papá, one of my friends likes to practice what she learned in class on me.” He could feel his father getting more upset then he was before his mother opened the door. He never did like when Amehlo did anything he considered “feminine”. He said it would turn him gay.

“Why you do such disgusting things to yourself has always confused me. You’re not gay, stop making yourself look so, lavette.”

“Henri! God forbid our son look like that, but must you be so rude about it?!” Henri whipped around so fast Amehlo swore he could hear his father's neck crack. Holding his breath he slipped behind his mother as she moved closer to her husband to get in his face. Walking a little faster then he normally would, he pushes open the door at the end of the hallway.

The nostalgia hit him hard when he closed the door behind him and looked around the dark room, He hasn't been here for a just over a year, his college is across the country so he lives in a small dorm with a guy he can’t remember the name of. He does remember him having a confederate flag on the wall though. It wasn't a very comfortable situation.  
His bed is pushed into the corner across from him next to the glass doors to his balcony. The one perk to being home is that for some reason the smaller rooms in this complex have good sized balconies. The walls are littered with different prints he bought from past conventions and a few of his better finished pieces. The ceiling is still strung with fairy lights thankfully, when he was younger his parents tried to make him get rid of them. Stating that they were “too feminine”.

Amehlo put his two suitcases down next to his bed and opened the doors to the balcony. It has a nice view over the park. The green of spring is something he missed here. A playground is off to the side near wooden benches, trails crisscrossed the length of the park and the fountain in the middle of the park reminded him of the one in the middle of campus. There are other complexes lining the park, nothing too hard on the eyes thankfully. They are all earthy tones of brown, red, and one of them had a green roof. Not the best choice but he won't question it.

“Mon bureau!” His desk sat pushed up against the wall facing the park and it’s covered! Meaning it wasn't damaged at least by weather, hopefully no bugs had decided to make it their home while he’s been away. Pulling the covering and whipping it off, he smiled. He had made sure to put a protective coating on it when he decided to move it outside. It is a nice desk and when it rained it managed to keep the stuff he put in the drawers dry. It’s also a nice place to put in his headphones, ignore his parents, and focus on his art or play his guitar when he can’t hear it inside.

Going back inside he made sure his bedroom door was closed and locked before he started unpacking. He didn’t know how long he was going to be here but he hoped it isn't too long. People only started to take this pandemic seriously when cases started rapidly popping up in the U.S. His college had sent everyone home for an undetermined amount of time because of it.

Clothes in the closet, a few more drawing to go on the wall, pictures of him and his best his friends on the bookshelf full of sketchbooks and art supplies, his acoustic back on the stand with the other, more expensive guitars, and his newer games and movies his friends had, most likely, pirated for his birthday last year, in the cabinet under the T.V.

Grabbing a sketchbook and a pencil Amehlo went back out on the balcony and sat in his spiny chair. It was a shitty chair when he bought it and it’s shitty now but it’s the perfect height and he likes to spin on it when he’s out of ideas. He looked through his phone for a good reference picture when he heard his parents start yelling about dinner. Rolling his eyes he pulled his earbuds out of his pocket, he plugged them in and put on his favorite playlist, lovingly named “Fuck Shit”. Finding the reference he was looking for and losing himself in his art.

When the sun started to set he grabbed a desk lamp from his bookshelf and plugged it in. Not wanting to stop because of lack of light. Besides, it’s not like there is anything else to do while his parents are still awake. Getting stuck in the middle of an argument is something he would like to avoid if he could.

Amehlo just pressed play on his music again when the door to the porch on his left opened and a boy stumbled out. He is wrapped in a pink fuzzy blanket and his hair looks silver in the moonlight. He immediately looked at Amehlo with a look of confusion before anger washed over his face and hit him like a wave on a Cali beach during storm season.

“Who the fuck are you?” The boy's smooth voice broke him out of his frozen state. The boy is much closer now, stopping a few inches before the railing. Dark eyes pinned on him. “Hey, weird eyes, I asked you a question.” The boy's eyebrows furrowed and he leaned over the railing of his balcony. Leaving him about a foot from Amehlo, which is way to close because now he could see the boys eyes are so dark they look black and go really well with his silvery hair. He looked like a really pretty, really angry, moon spirit.

“M-me?” Amehlo pointed to himself with a slender finger and took out his earbuds.

“Yea you, where the hell did you come from.” The blanket is sliding down the boy's shoulders and he shifts to stop it.

“Oh, uh. I-I um, I live here?” It came out more of a question then he would have liked. Then again no one usually speaks to him, let alone like that. “No you don’t. I’ve never seen you in my life.”

“No um, I do live here. Kind of. I mean. I’m in college but they sent us home for the virus. My parents live here.”

The boy's shoulders dropped but the glare remained on his face. “Well that’s really fucking convenient, isn’t it. Where am I supposed to go now? Narnia? This piece of shit place doesn't have a goddamn roof entrance.”  
“I’m sorry! I can, I can go inside if you want to be alone.” He looked Amehlo up and down, it felt more predatory then he felt it should have. Like he's sizing him up for a fight.

“Ya, no don’t let me interrupt you from what ever the fuck you are doing dressed like that.” Amehlo looked down at himself, he’s still wearing what he had on the plane. An old Mayday Parade shirt from high school and black sweatpants that slipped down his hips when he stood up. He bought them before he got the motivation to start working out. They were both stained with paint, old projects he was just a bit too excited about and carelessness during sleepless nights in his dorm. “What’s wrong with what I’m wearing? It's comfy.” The pretty boy raised an eyebrow and sneered at him.

“It’s cOmFY” He mocked, screwing up his face, “Doesn't stop you from looking like a skyscraper of a disaster. What if you died in that and you got stuck being a ghost. You’d have to wear that for fucking ever.” A startled laugh made its way out of Amehlo. “What is so funny you lanky piece of bastard?!”

“I’m sorry, it’s just, do you always think like that?” He pulled back from the railing, still holding it for balance. And his face screwed up like Amehlo had just killed his kitten.

“What the hell is wrong with your fucking head? I think very normally you cunt.” He let go of the railing and stood up straight pointing to himself. He is wearing dark blue pajama pants and a shirt that looks three sizes too big that has a Japanese writing across the front. “If I were to die and become a ghost right now I would be happy with my outfit. You on the other hand, you would hate yourself for eternity.” A smug look crossed his face as he spoke, Amehlo hadn't noticed before but he was holding a lolly pop in his left hand as he talked and put it back in his mouth when he’s done.

“I like what I’m wearing enough. Besides, I’m not going to sit outside at night in something that is uncomfy.” Amehlo shrugged his shoulders. “Now if you will excuse me, I’m listening to my favorite playlist and I would like to finish this” he pointed to his sketchbook with the sad excuse of a sketch in it, “before I go to bed.” The boy leaned over the railing again to look at the sketch. And let out a laugh that sounded more hyena than human.

“It looks like you need the practice. Nothing that looks like that should keep you up to late.” A toothy smirk made its way over his face. He turned on his heel and walked to the other side of his balcony and sat down with a book that seemed to come from thin air. Offended, Amehlo stared at him for a minute before the boy yelled at him and he turned back to his sketch. A new motivation to make sure the finished product would make the pretty boys jaw drop.

The next few hours slipped by, by the time Amehlo leaned back to look at his finished sketch. It’s a concept for the project his professor had given the class after they were told they would continue with classes online. With one last look over the concept he closed his sketchbook and got up, just realizing how cold it’s gotten. Shivering he slid open the door to his room. Before he entered he paused and looked over to the balcony next to his. No sign of the pretty asshole, just an empty deck chair and a lone plant in the far corner he hadn't noticed before.

Shaking his head Amehlo closed the door behind him and flopped onto his bed. He pulled the black blankets around him and placed the sketchbook on the floor. Suddenly too tired to get up to put it back. Sleep is harder than it had been in a while. His father's snores pierced the silence and he knew when his mother woke up she would yell at him to be quiet and then the arguing would start

Pulling out his phone, he plugged his headphones in and looked for something to fall asleep to.

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first thing I've written in three years that is not school related. I really miss writing so I thought I'd just go for it. Thank you so much for reading and I hope you'll stick around for the next update!


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